News

Cameroonian LGBT rights advocate murdered

The State Department described Eric Ohena Lembembe’s death as a “terrible act”

Published

13 years ago

July 16, 2013

Michael K. Lavers

Yaounde, Cameroon, gay news, Washington Blade

Yaounde, Cameroon (Photo by Mac9 via Wikimedia Commons)

A prominent LGBT rights advocate in Cameroon was found dead inside his home on Monday.

Human Rights Watch said advocates found Eric Ohena Lembembe’s body on his bed in his home in Yaoundé, the country’s capital, after they were unable to reach him for two days.

One of Lembembe’s friends told Human Rights Watch that his neck and feet “appeared to be broken.” An iron was also reportedly used to burn Lembembe’s face, hands and feet.

Lembembe, who was the executive director of the Cameroonian Foundation for AIDS, worked with Human Rights Watch and two other LGBT advocacy groups in the country — Alternatives-Cameroun and the Association for the Defense of Homosexuals — to document anti-gay persecution in the nation. He also contributed to Erasing 76 Crimes, a blog that chronicles efforts to report on efforts to decriminalize homosexuality around the world.

“Eric was an inspiring activist whose work was deeply appreciated by human rights activists in Cameroon and around the world,” Neela Ghoshal, a researcher for Human Rights Watch’s Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Rights Program, said. “Advocating for equal rights in Cameroon, where LGBTI people face severe discrimination and violence, takes tremendous courage. Eric’s activism paved the way for a society based on equality and nondiscrimination.”

State Department spokesperson Marie Harf also condemned Lembembe’s murder.

“We condemn this terrible act in the strongest terms and urge the Cameroonian authorities to thoroughly and promptly investigate and prosecute those responsible for his death,” she said in a statement issued late on Tuesday.

Lembembe’s death comes against the backdrop of ongoing anti-gay persecution and violence in the country.

Cameroonian authorities since 2010 have prosecuted more than 30 people under the section of the country’s penal code that imposes a sentence of up to five years in prison and a roughly $400 fine against anyone convicted of same-sex sexual activity.

Police in Yaoundé in March 2011 arrested Jean-Claude Roger Mbede after sending a flirtatious text message to another man. Authorities later that year arrested Jonas Kimie and Franky Ndome outside a nightclub in the Cameroonian capital and charged them under the country’s anti-homosexuality law.

A judge sentenced Kimie and Ndome to five years in prison, but an appellate court in January released them. The Washington Blade’s attempts to interview the men earlier this year were unsuccessful because they had gone into hiding.

Human Rights Watch said a group of unidentified assailants torched Alternatives-Cameroun’s headquarters in the city of Douala on June 26. The organization noted burglars took legal files and a laptop from the Yaoundé office of Michel Togué, a lawyer who represents gay men charged under the country’s anti-homosexuality law, when they broke into it 10 days earlier.

Togué said during a forum at the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights in D.C. in February that he moved his family to Maryland because of death threats he and his colleagues received.

“Gay people are not seeking everyone to approve of their behavior,” he said. “They are seeking freedom.”

The State Department and Amnesty International are among the government agencies and human rights organizations that have criticized Cameroon’s LGBT rights record in recent years.

President Paul Biya told journalists in January after a meeting with French President François Hollande that attitudes towards gay Cameroonians are changing.

Ghoshal and other human rights advocates continue to urge Cameroonian authorities to publicly condemn Lembembe’s murder and arrest those responsible for his death.

“We don’t know who killed Eric Lembembe, or why he was killed, but one thing is clear: the Cameroonian authorities’ utter failure to stem homophobic violence sends the message that these attacks can be carried out with impunity,” Ghoshal said. “The police should not rest until the perpetrators of this horrific crime are brought to justice. President Biya should break his silence on the wave of homophobic violence in Cameroon and publicly condemn this brutal attack.”

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North Carolina

Authorities investigate officer-involved shooting outside Asheville gay bar

Incident took place near Shakey’s on Wednesday

Published

2 days ago

July 17, 2026

Emma LaPointe

(Photo by chalabala/Bigstock)

An officer-involved shooting outside of a gay dive bar, Shakey’s, in downtown Asheville, N.C., left one man dead Wednesday.

The bar released a statement the following morning regarding the incident, stating that bar staff had asked a patron to leave earlier in the night citing concerning behavior. The bar said that later the man was spotted with a gun in the parking lot.

The bar proceeded to call 911, locked the doors to the establishment, and followed dispatcher instructions on how to keep patrons of the bar safe while officers arrived. These protocols included getting patrons away from the windows and staying low to the ground.

According to Shakey’s, shots were fired outside of the business. When the Asheville Police Department officers arrived, they fired back. The individual died from their injuries, according to the police.

“Because of everyone’s quick actions, cooperation, and concern for one another, every customer and every employee inside Shakey’s made it home safely. We are incredibly thankful,” Shakey’s said on their Instagram page. They thanked Asheville police, emergency dispatchers, EMS, and all first responders who were on scene.

On Thursday, a spokesperson for the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation, Chad Flowers, stated that the suspect involved in the shooting was Arturo Castillo Palomar.

The Washington Blade reached out to the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation for a comment regarding the possibility of the event being considered a hate crime. They said the issue is currently under investigation and that the findings would be turned over to the district attorney for review.

Baltimore

Popular Mount Vernon gay bar Leon’s to temporarily close after owner’s death

Ron Singer passed away on July 7

Published

2 days ago

July 17, 2026

Baltimore Banner

Leon’s Backroom Bar in Mount Vernon. (Photo by Jessica Gallagher for the Baltimore Banner)

By WESLEY CASE | Leon’s Backroom, Baltimore’s oldest gay bar, temporarily shut down after service on Wednesday night, according to a post on the business’s Instagram page.

The announcement comes a little more than a week after the death of the Mount Vernon bar’s owner, Ron Singer, who died at 66 on July 7.

The rest of this article can be found on the Baltimore Banner’s website.

Local

Comings & Goings

New garden center offers array of products in Rehoboth

Published

2 days ago

July 17, 2026

Peter Rosenstein

Bay Laurel Home & Garden is located just outside Rehoboth on Route 1.

The Comings & Goings column is about sharing the professional successes of our community. We want to recognize those landing new jobs, new clients for their business, joining boards of organizations and other achievements. Please share your successes with us at [email protected].

Congratulations to Stuart Ortel and Scott Marker, and Dave Lyons and Rick Hardy, on the recent opening of their garden center on Route 1 in Rehoboth Beach, in the former Farmer Girl site. It is called Bay Laurel Home and Garden and debuted earlier this year. The four owners are all well known to the denizens of Rehoboth Beach.

Stuart and Scott have been active members of the Rehoboth Beach community since 1999. Stuart is a landscape architect, and has established relationships with many local folks in the building and landscape industry. When this opportunity for Bay Laurel Home & Garden presented itself, and they had the perfect team of people in place, he and Scott were committed to making it a reality. So, when Scott and Stuart introduced this opportunity to create a new garden center to Dave and Rick, they embraced the chance to cultivate a business where beautiful plants, inspiring home and garden products, and outstanding customer service come together. Dave and Rick knew about owning a business in Rehoboth as they previously owned Coho’s Market, where they discovered firsthand the value of serving their community, and the rewards of running a locally owned business.

The garden center launched with a refreshed brand identity, updated merchandising, and expanded product lines, all designed to create an inspiring and welcoming environment for your home. Bay Laurel Home & Garden offers a beautifully appointed garden center and curated home and gift shop.

The new center features a full nursery with annuals, perennials, shrubs, trees, and seasonal selections; a garden center offering pottery, fountains, and garden ornamentation, and essential tools and garden supplies. It has a garden shop featuring unique indoor/outdoor furnishings and accessories, and a gift shop featuring botanical and coastal style items for home and entertaining.